EX-AZTEC BURRIS HAS BEEN A HIT AS RAIDERS ROOKIE LINEBACKER
MILES AHEAD

It was a summer drill carrying a jolt and message: You’re not in the Mountain West anymore, Miles Burris.

“It was the first day of pads in training camp and it was just me and Darren McFadden,” said Burris, about squaring up on the Raiders’ bruising running back. “And I’m thinking, ‘Do I hit the star player or not?’ ”

While Burris contemplated being the hammer, he became the nail.

“He gave it to me a little bit on that play,” said Burris, after his fillings were rattled. “It was a lesson learned.”

Burris’ NFL education continues Sunday in his old college haunts, Qualcomm Stadium. The former San Diego State standout is the weak side linebacker for the Silver and Black, and how stunning-and-whack is that?

“I had no expectations on what was going to happen,” Burris said. “My main goal was just to make the 53-man roster.”

He did that, and more.

“You don’t anticipate a fourth-round draft choice out of San Diego State starting for you for the whole season,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. “But he earned that right.”

Right-on and were we wrong about this year’s Aztecs?

Burris was among four SDSU players drafted, preparing us for a rebuilding season instead of one producing nine victories and Poinsettia Bowl appearance.

Maybe Burris and buddies weren’t that good after all.

Burris laughed, because he never doubted coach Rocky Long would present another winner.

“I was excited about those boys,” Burris said. “They still had that mentality of being a good team and with a toughness which comes from their coach.”

While Burris was meaner than most Mountain West linebackers, not so at the NFL level. But he kept his head down, stayed in his lane, and supplied that same current of competitiveness that sparked SDSU.

“In terms of his energy, it’s been there the whole time,” Allen said. “He’s the type of player that we’re looking for: he loves football, he’s willing to work and he’s got a team attitude. Those are the characteristics of the guys that we’re really looking for, and he fits that mold to a ‘T.’ ”

He’s out of place in that he’s the Raiders’ lone rookie starter. But he’s no square peg finding a round hole in contributing 129 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception and fumble recovery.

“On every play he’s fired-up, intense, just running around making plays,” Raiders defensive back Michael Huff said. “You can tell he’s a young guy who’s just hungry and wants to go out there and make plays. He’s been playing well.”

Which neither the Raiders or Chargers claim. Oakland limps into the season finale with four wins. The Chargers have two more, but that’s hardly cause for a chest bump.

What rises is Sunday’s crowd count. The Raiders travel swell, so no TV blackout this weekend.

Count Burris among those dedicated to all things eye-patch. Raised in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, he was a rock solid Raiders honk.

“We went to a lot of Raiders games growing up,” Burris said. “Now it’s a little bit wild running into the stadium as a player.”